What if google and I are mortal enemies?

Then google just went up 10 points in my opinion of it.

Then google just went up 10 points in my opinion of it.

Do you hate me grawk?

I might be able to try the Koss with the Stax pro energizer in two weeks.

You have a nice amplifier for your Stax. Why don't you just scrap the Koss one ASAP?

You have a nice amplifier for your Stax. Why don't you just scrap the Koss one ASAP?

Because I almost always listen to the SR-007 MK1. And I've been waiting for the Amphenol connector so I could try it with the Stax amp.

Too bad my system didn't come with an extension cable. Looks like I gotta buy it from Koss. I do like the ESP950 much more than the SR-303. The bass impact on these is earth shattering!

Too bad my system didn't come with an extension cable. Looks like I gotta buy it from Koss. I do like the ESP950 much more than the SR-303. The bass impact on these is earth shattering!

The more I read your impressions on headphones, the more I think you have an audition problem as Deepak suggested. The ESP950 are nice headphones and their bass is quite good, particularly out of a good amp, but they certainly don't have earth shattering bass, and even less out of the stock Koss amp.

The more I read your impressions on headphones, the more I think you have an audition problem as Deepak suggested. The ESP950 are nice headphones and their bass is quite good, particularly out of a good amp, but they certainly don't have earth shattering bass, and even less out of the stock Koss amp.

I think my source has emphasized bass I think.

I think my source has emphasized bass I think.

I think your brain has emphasized bullshit I think.

But, I am exaggerating too. The Denon D2000 had more impactful bass.

I think your brain has emphasized bullshit I think.

That was pretty mean bud.

You're right. Terribly sorry.

i think you should contract hemorrhagic fever and then blow your own fucking brains out with a shotgun.

Cool, I guess you're another stuck up audiophile. I can tell because they get angry when you disagree with them.

i was just showing you what mean was, but i'm pretty sick of your little spurts of verbal diarrhea, so i think i'm going to do something about it.

You're so cute.

*POOF*

Hey troymadison, any reason you decided to sell the ESP950? I'm trying to figure out if it would be something worth upgrading to.

troymadison is no more on HC.

Hey troymadison, any reason you decided to sell the ESP950? I'm trying to figure out if it would be something worth upgrading to.

There's a lot of information on the ESP950 here on HC all over; do a search. A few people own(ed) it.

Maybe I should wait until after you get your ESP-950 issue resolved, but I have some questions. How forward is the midrange and how aggressive is the sound compared to a Lambda, and how much does different amplification affect this?

I think the first page of this thread has some good descriptions of the forwardness and soundstage. Here are my views to add to that.

I would say the ESP950 is like an Electrostatic Grado RS-2, and fairly forward and "right there". The SR-Lambda signature by comparison is still fairly aggressive like an Electrostatic Grado RS-1 with bowls, but the soundstage is instead a big wide nebulous sound-field that is reminiscent of an Ultrasone S-logic headphone sometimes. The SR-Lambda normal bias is less agressive than either of those, as is the HE60, but the SR-Lambda is more well balanced.

The Koss ESP950 probably have more in common with my O2 Mk2 than my Lambdas, in terms of strong bass and forward mids - but an important difference is that the Koss squishes the instruments and musicians closer together, while the O2 still manage to have a wide soundstage while being forward at the same time. In contrast, the HE60 seems to have this big wide soundstage, but it is easier to pinpoint position the instruments and musicians with them than with the Lambdas. The HE60 also tend to have a more airy etherial feel to the sound, which hurts the illusion of really being there, as if the instruments were a hologram instead of the real thing - the O2 and Koss ESP950 give the instruments more body and substance (as does the Lambda Sig over the normal Lambda).

However, I have not listened to my Koss with the stock amp yet. I bought the Koss from Spritzer with the APS recable using Stax PC-OCC cable and dampening removed, and have tried them with my SRM-1 Mk2 Pro, Woo GES prototype, Woo GES maxed, Sherwood's SRM-T1, and SRD-7 Pro with Nuforce Icon and Travagans Red speaker amps.

The amp does make a difference, especially in terms of whether the soundstage is entirely within the head, or if it can break those boundaries and move outside of the head. Bass presence is also affected by the amp. The Woo GES maxed does the best job of getting the soundstage to extend outside of the head now that it has over 250 hours on it, while Sherwood's SRM-T1 did the best job with what you might call "bass impact" (well, the SRD-7/Nuforce just about ties the SRM-T1 for bass, and the Travagans Red in place of the Nuforce does have a wider soundstage).

When I had my maxed GES built, I could not give up my SR-Lambda and SR-5NB gold edition but I planned to sell my SRM-1 Mk2 pro. So I had a 230v normal bias jack added to the pro-bias jack, when I could have had a Koss or Senn jack, or a 600-620v Pro jack installed instead. I don't think I will regret that, but possibly I could send it back to be modded in the future if I decide to run my normal bias stax off my SRD-X and SRD-7SB and want 620v bias on the second jack.

Hope this helps.

I am really interested in these, especially with the APureSound modifications.

The problem is that I'm afraid that the build quality is not that impressive, and a new cable means there is no warranty on them thereafter.

Sorry if it's a noob question but I noticed at the APS site that the stax->koss cable adapter cable is not changed, could it improve the SQ if that would be made from stax cable as well? Yes I know that the stock amp is crappy but if I buy one with the mods I will have no money left. And I also heard that a separate PSU does improve the stock amp's performance, is this true? Or should I get a decent electrostatic amp asap?

Thanks in advance.

The cable doesn't change the warranty status. You can even send them back without a cable.

And replacing the cable before getting an amp is amazingly stupid.

The Koss may look like a cheap piece of shit but its build quality is good enough and far superior to the He60 where it actually counts, i.e. driver coupling and how the drivers are constructed. Both are far from perfect though...

The cable doesn't change the warranty status. You can even send them back without a cable.

And replacing the cable before getting an amp is amazingly stupid.

Thanks, I see, but I live in the EU which means high shipping costs, so I think I have no better choice than order it from US and send it for a new cable right away. After some time I would get an amp anyway but really good ones at a good price are hard to find, especially considering that not all of them are easily usable on EU voltage.

Well, we can't all be Nordic bread Barons, Birgir...

The Koss may look like a cheap piece of shit but its build quality is good enough and far superior to the He60 where it actually counts, i.e. driver coupling and how the drivers are constructed. Both are far from perfect though...

But you pay what you'd expect for the Koss. IMHO the Koss is a big bargain, and a very under rated stat, especially when coupled w/a great amp and running at the Gilmore recommended voltage.

I also find the Koss quite comfy, and build quality is not bad.

But you pay what you'd expect for the Koss. IMHO the Koss is a big bargain, and a very under rated stat, especially when coupled w/a great amp and running at the Gilmore recommended voltage.

I also find the Koss quite comfy, and build quality is not bad.

Yup, at something like 6-700$ for the Koss system new it is a screaming deal even without the lifetime warranty. The BQ isn't that bad and I'm sure we know some woodworkers that could turn them into a HE90-like contraption...